This past week was our Spring Lecture Series at Mobap. We were greatly blessed to have Artist/Sculptor Richard Hight bring the messages through word and art. The last day of the series, Thursday, SpiritWing led the worship and Bro. Hight asked if I would bring the invitation. I had planned on one, possibly two songs for the invitation, depending on how The Spirit led. I have to say I don't know if anyone was expecting what was about to happen. As Bro. Hight spoke, the presence of The Almighty filled that place. That day, the gospel was presented in one of the most powerful ways I have ever experienced and when it came time for the invitation, what was originally going to be a song or two turned into an extended time of worship that lasted almost twenty minutes! God worked mightily and people's lives were changed. It was a tremendous blessing to be able to share in this time.
(see above picture, taken during invitation)
-Kaleb
3 comments:
it was amazing
Hey brother, before I leave my comment, I want to preface it by saying that I love you in Christ and that the only purpose of this message is to edify the body of Christ and to do live out the "iron sharpens iron" example. I don't want you to think that I am attacking you, because I'm most definitely not, I'm just announcing my observations.
I don't remember any scripture being quoted or a text that he read from. What I remember is Hight paraphrasing the gospel (in a rather inaccurate manner, in my opinion) while focusing upon a performance he was giving rather than the true message of the gospel, or even why we needed such a God-man as Jesus. When he began repeating the phrase "I can't explain it, but I've experienced it" I couldn't help but to keep remembering the verse about studying to be able to give an account for what you believe. Also the numerous other verses that say specifically that the only way of salvation is through God's word, of which is the Bible and the Holy Spirit illumining our minds in order to be able to understand His word. We see a huge example in 2 Timothy 3:15, of how Timothy was raised in the word of God and from it, he was saved by faith in the one and only Jesus Christ.
What Richard Hight's message sounded like to me was existentialism (can't explain it, but i've experienced it; living in the moment; etc). Now, what I'm certainly not saying is that the people worshipping after the service weren't genuinely worshipping, for who am I to say such things? I am not Jesus Christ, the Judge, therefore I cannot make that call. But what we are called to judge (or I guess a more appropriate word for this culture would be "discern") those who are spreading the word inaccurately and those who are spreading the word accurately.
Let's say that one of the people that "was saved" that day went home and thought, "now everything will be taken care of because I have Jesus. All my sins are washed away and all my scars are gone and I don't have to worry about anything anymore." Well, this would certainly be nice if it were said in the context of heaven, but, clearly, this statement does not describe our current position on earth. For those who are in Christ, the true children of God, have a life full of battles, hardships, and much suffering until we are called home to heaven. Therefore, we would conclude that the one who preached this "everything is going to be better once you accept Christ" message is telling a false gospel, maybe not on purpose, but purposeful or not, it's still the false gospel that leads people to false salvation day after day after day.
Now am I saying that Christians don't have a life that is better after salvation? Not at all! For we have life more abundantly! A wonderful life with our Savior and Lord, who we were once under wrath but now, by the free gift of grace from our Sovereign God, we can call Him our Father, as Christ did. However, this does not mean that we will "have it easy" or "our scars will be washed away." No, no, no, for how many times are we reminded of our sins of our past life? How many times do we labor in pain and turmoil for the purity of our minds, words, and actions for the sake of pleasing our Father? The count would be immeasurable. And the Bible is replete with words describing how we are to suffer for a short time, short time referring to not a literal "short period of time" but a "short time in reference to the eternity we are to spend in heaven" For this life compared to that of heaven is nothing, and so is the present sufferings we face and will face when we compare it to the immensity of heaven and Who's in it.
...so (big breath), after saying all that, the only thing I want to say is, the speaker scared me, because, from what scripture says and what he preached were contrary to each other. The Word says salvation by grace through faith in the One that you KNOW. The other says salvation, but who knows what it REALLY is? As far as he's concerned (it seemed), salvation is a person crying over a man (not God-man; notice his emphasis was on Jesus as a man, and not as a part of the trinity, also, upon the physical death he suffered instead of absorbing the wrath of God, which was the real sacrifice, not his physical death) who suffered immense physical pain. He didn't mention man's fallen condition, nor what it means when one is saved, for "I can't explain it, but I've experienced it." If we aren't careful, we could even see this leading to Unitarianism, which is the dumbing down of doctrines in order to promote unity, something that is highly discouraged in the Bible. Ever see those bumper stickers with the "coexist" on it and it has different religious symbols? But didn't Jesus say, "I come not to bring peace, but a sword?"
We must always be on our guard, holding EVERYTHING to the Word of God, for the sake of Christ's name among the earth. For our first priority as Christians, is giving glory to God, but how can we do this if the Word of God is being distorted? We must discipline ourselves to seek after God in His word and in prayer and then take those disciplines and apply them to our lives so others can see the true word of the gospel being lived in our lives on a daily basis .
Again, I do NOT say all this to put you down in any way. I just wanted you to hear a different observation and, as iron sharpens iron, grow spiritually from thinking about what I've said, not that what I say holds any weight whatsoever, but that what I bring is from scripture, and that's where the only that that is worth speaking about exists.
Praise God for your enthusiasm to serve our Lord, Jesus Christ! May God bless you richly as you endeavor to sacrifice your agenda for His. Again, Praise God!
Timothy,
First of all, thank you for your concern for the gospel. As believers, the gospel of Jesus Christ is all that we are; it must be proclaimed boldly, and in truth.
This is why I shared about the amazing message Richard Hight delivered. Though he didn't read directly from The Word, he told the story of the gospel (while he sculpted) from the scripture he has stored in his heart. And I have to say, I don't remember him misquoting it.
I was listening intently and was deeply moved by the message. I felt a sense of gratitude for my Savior that I had not experienced in a while, which brings me to the next point. As for him saying, "I can't explain it, but I've experienced it": can anyone fully comprehend or explain the depth of the sacrifice and the intensity of the sufferings that our Savior Jesus Christ went through? I know I can't. God's grace is beyond our comprehension. Never-the-less, because of God's grace, and through the faith He provides, we understand enough for the saving of our souls. And it is truly amazing!
I believe that is what Richard Hight meant when he said "I can't explain it, but I've experienced it." Not that he can't explain the cross, or give an answer for the hope that is within him; he obviously did that very well, and I believe many lives were impacted for the Kingdom's sake. I know mine was.
So brother, though I don't share your view on Mr. Hight's message, I respect your effort to follow 1 John 4:1 and "...test the spirits to see whether they are from God..." and to "Test all things; hold fast what is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Keep serving Jesus!
In Christ,
Kaleb
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